How To Keep It Going ... Sustainability

In order for a collaborative effort to continue, it must continue to fulfill a purpose for everyone involved.Continually provide value to the participants. You can provide information and/or service. Everyone needs to feel like they gained or accomplished something at every meeting.Information/data must be accurate, relevant, and easily understood.
Create and maintain a process for feedback.
Connect with the community.
Continually locate and engage resources.
Bring in people from outside the collaboration who can provide new information/training/service.
Have the members of the collaboration participate in meetings. Presentations should be made by many different individuals within the collaboration including as many of the members as possible.
Continue to be open to change. Over time, success may require a change of direction, emphasis, or focus.
New goals need to be continuously set and achieved. Evaluate Outcomes. Celebrate Success!! Advertise Success!! Let the community know about your accomplishments.
New people often provide new energy. Commit resources to leadership development.
Much, if not all, of your work may depend upon volunteers. They can came from many places. One resource that may help volunteers in the United States is USA Freedom Corps. To register for Volunteer Match, go to: http://www.volunteermatch.org. We have seen great success with programs such as those listed through USA Freedom Corps; however, it would usually be a mistake to overlook the many other potential volunteers in your community or organization. Many individuals, clubs, faith groups, and organizations, are willing and able to donate time, money, and resources.For information on Sustainable Communities around the world, visit the Institute for Sustainable Communities.
Find ways to sustain the collaboration without grants. Grants may be a great addition to your collaboration but may not always be available.
Depending upon your collaboration, program, or project, sustainability does not necessarily require funding. Many long lasting programs and projects have used little or no funding but have been sustained entirely by volunteers and in-kind contributions.
Help individuals find and follow their passion. Provide incentives and rewards to volunteers. You can often develop partnerships with business and organizations which may provide valuable incentives, rewards, and acknowledgments, to volunteers, at little or no cost to the business or organization.
Sometimes collaborations outgrow their usefulness. Sometimes we lose our passion for a particular issue. Change can be good and revitalize. Sometimes a collaboration is better served by merging with another.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."Attributed to Albert Einstein
If it doesn't work, do something else.
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Additional information on Effective Community Mobilization, is contained in this blog.